NOVEMBER,  1905 


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PART  71  NOVEMBER, 

1905 

VOLUME  6 

a 1 1 u t*  1 

X 

CONTENTS 

MASTERS  IN  ART 

A SERIES  OF  ILLUSTRATED 
MONOGRAPHS:  ISSUED  MONTHLY 


Plate  I.  Portrait  of  Mrs.  Strachan 

Plate  II.  Portrait  of  Lord  Newton 

Plate  III.  Mrs.  Ferguson  and  Children 

Plate  IV.  Portrait  of  Sir  Walter  Scott 

Plate  V.  Portrait  of  Sir  John  Sinclair 

Plate  VI.  Portrait  of  Mrs.  Campbell  of  Balliemore 

Plate  VII.  Portrait  of  John  Wauchope 

Plate  VIII.  Portrait  of  Mrs.  Scott-Moncrieff 

Plate  IX.  Portrait  of  James  Wardrop  of  Torbanehill 

Plate  X.  The  Macnab 


Worcester  Art  Museum,  Worcester,  Mass. 
National  Gallery  of  Scotland,  Edinburgh 
Owned  by  R.  C.  Munroe-Ferguson,  Esq. 

Collection  of  the  Earl  of  Home 
Owned  by  Sir  Tollemache  Sinclair 
National  Gallery  of  Scotland,  Edinburgh 
National  Gallery  of  Scotland,  Edinburgh 
National  Gallery  of  Scotland,  Edinburgh 
Owned  by  Mrs.  Shirley 
Owned  by  Hon.  Mrs.  Baillie  Hamilton 

Page  22 
Page  23 


Portrait  of  Raeburn  by  Himself : Owned  by  Lord  Tweedmouth 
The  Life  of  Raeburn 

Abridged  from  Edward  Pinnington's  ‘ Sir  Henry  Raeburn  ’ 

The  Art  of  Raeburn 

Criticisms  by  Armstrong,  Pinnington,  Brown,  Van  Dyke,  Cole,  Muther,  Stevenson 
The  Works  of  Raeburn : Descriptions  of  the  Plates  and  a List  of  Paintings 
Raeburn  Bibliography 


Page  30 

Page  36 
Page  42 

Photo-angravings  by  C.  J.  Ptttrs  Son:  Boston.  Prass-work  by  tht  Evantt  Prass  : Boston 
A complata  indax  for  pravious  numbars  will  ba  found  in  tba  Rtadar's  Guida  to  Pariodical  Litaratura , which  may  ba  consultad  in  any  library 


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MASTERS  IN  ART 


IDasteingrt 

}i^eriEa#Illustratetii]igno£rapt)g 


The  numbers  of1  Masters  in  Art 1 which  have  already  appeared 
in  1905  are : 

#Part  61,  J ANU  A R Y 
Part  62,  FEBRUARY 
PART63,  MARCH 
Part  64,  APRIL 
Part  65,  MAY 
Part  66,  JUNE  . 

Part  67,  JULY  . 

Part  68,  AUGUST 
Part  69,  SEPTEMBER 
Part  70,  OCTOBER 
Part  71,  NOVEMBER 


WATTS 
. PALMA  VECCHIO 
DAME  VIGEE  LE  BRUN 
MANTEGNA 
. CHARDIN 
. BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 
. JAN  STEEN 
. MEMLINC 
. CLAUDE  LORRA1N 
. VERROCCHIO 
. RAEBURN 


PART  72,  THE  ISSUE  FOR 

Bmmber 


WILL  TREAT  OF 


tfta  Filippo  Cippi 


NUMBERS  ISSUED  IN  PREVIOUS  VOLUMES 
OF  ‘MASTERS  IN  ART’ 


VOL.  1. 

VOL.  2. 

Part 

I. 

—VAN  DYCK 

Part 

13 

— RUBENS 

Part 

2. 

—TITIAN 

Part 

14 

—DA  VINCI 

Part 

3- 

—VELASQUEZ 

Part 

15 

— DU  RER 

P ART 

4 

-HOLBEIN 

Part 

16 

— MICHELANGELO* 

Part 

5- 

— 110  rTICELLI 

Part 

17 

— MI CHELANGELOf 

P ART 

6. 

— REMBRANDT 

Part 

18 

— CO  RO’F 

Part 

7- 

— R E YNOLDS 

Part 

19 

— BU  R N E-JONES 

1’  ART 

8. 

— MILLET 

Part 

20 

— PER  BORCH 

Part 

9- 

— GIO.  BELLINI 

Part 

21 

— DELLA  ROBBIA 

Part 

io. 

— MURILLO 

Part 

22 

—DEL  SARTO 

Part 

1 1 . 

— HALS 

Part 

2-3 

—GAINSBOROUGH 

P ART 

12. 

—RAPHAEL 

Part 

2-4 

—CORREGGIO 

*.9  culpture 

t 

Pat 

nfing 

V 

OL.  3. 

VOL.  4. 

Part 

25- 

— PHIDIAS 

Part 

37 

—ROMNEY 

Part 

26. 

-PERUGINO 

Part 

38 

— FRA  ANGELICO 

Part 

27. 

—HOLBEIN  $ 

Part 

39 

—WATTEAU 

Part 

28. 

— T I N TORETTO 

Part 

40 

-RAPHAEL* 

Part 

29. 

- P.  deHOOCH 

Part 

41 

—DONATELLO 

Part 

JO. 

— NATTIER 

Part 

42- 

—GERARD  DOU 

Part 

3« 

— PAUL.  POTTER 

Part 

43 

— CARPACCIO 

Part 

U- 

—GIOTTO 

Part 

44 

— ROSA  BONHF.UR 

Part 

33 

— PRAXITELES 

Part 

49 

— GUI  DO  REN1 

Part 

34- 

—HOGARTH 

Part 

46 

— P.  df.CH  AVANNF.S 

Part 

35- 

—TURNER 

Part 

47 

— GIORGIONE 

Part 

36. 

— LUINI 

Par  r 

48 

— R OSSET  IT 

§ Drawing 

s * 

Fr 

scos 

VOL.  5. 


Part  49, 
Part  50, 
Part  51, 
Part  52, 
Part  5 3, 
Part  5 4, 
Part  5 5, 
Part  5 6, 
Part  5 7, 
Part  58, 
Part  59, 
Part  60, 


JANUARY 

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MASTERS  IN  ART  PLATE  I 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  BALDWIN  COOLIDGE 

[423] 


RAEBURN 

PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  STRACEI  AN 
WORCESTER  ART  MUSEUM,  WORCESTER,  MASS. 


MASTERS  IjST  ART 


PRATE  II 


PHOTOGRAPH  BY  T.  & R.  ANNAN  & SONS 

[425] 


HAEBUBN 

PORTRAIT  OF  LORD  NEWTON 
NATIONAL  GALLERY  OF  SCOTLAND,  EDINBURGH 


MASTERS  IIN  ART  PLATE  ITI 


PHOTOGRAPH  BY  T.  & R ANNAN  & SONS 

[427] 


RAEBURX 

MRS.  FERGUSOX  AXD  CHILDREN 
OWNED  BY  R.  C.  MDNRO-FERGUSON,  ESQ. 


MASTERS  IE  ART  PLATE  TV 

PHOTOGRAPH  BYT.  4 R.  ANNAN  4 SONS 

[429] 


RAEBURE 

PORTRAIT  OF  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT 
COLLECTIOE  OF  THE  EARL  OF  HOME 


* 


MASTERS  IN  ART  ELATE  V 


PHOTOGRAPH  BY  T.  & R.  ANNAN  & SONS 

[431] 


BAEBUBN 

PORTRAIT  OE  SIR  .JOHN  SINCLAIR 
OWNED  BY  SIR  TOLLEM ACH E SINCLAIR 


MASTERS  IN  ART  PRATE  VI 


RAEBURN 


PHOTOGRAPH  BY  VALENTINE 

[433] 


PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  CAMPBELL  OF  BALLIEMOEE 
NATIONAL  GALLERY  OF  SCOTLAND,  EDINBURGH 


MASTERS  IN  ART  PLATE  VII 


PHOTOGRAPH  BY  VALENTINE 

[435] 


RAEBURN 

PORTRAIT  OP’  JOHN  WAUGHOPE 
NATIONAL  GALLERY  OF  SCOTLAND,  EDINBURGH 


MASTERS  IN  ART  PLATE  VIII 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  T.  & R.  ANNAN  & SONS 


[ 437  ] 


RAEBURN 

PORTRAIT  OE  MRS.  SCOTT-MONCR I EEE 
NATIONAL  GALLERY  OE  SCOTLAND,  EDINBURGH 


MASTERS  IN  ART  PLATE  IX 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  T.  & R.  ANNAN  A SONS 

[439] 


RAEBURN 

PORTRAIT  OF  JAMES  WARDROP  OF  TORBANEHILL 
OWNED  BY  MRS.  SHIRLEY 


MASTERS  IN  ART  PRATE  X 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  T.  & R.  ANNAN  & SONS 

[441  ] 


RAEBURN 
TIIE  MACNAB 

OWNED  BN  HON.  MRS.  BAILLIE  HAMILTON 


POKTHAIT  OF  Silt  HEXEY  KAKBUKX  HIMSELF 
O W A' ED  BY  LOE1)  TWEEDMOUTH. 

This  portrait  was  painted  about  1815,  when  the  artist  was  nearly  sixty  years  of  age. 
It  shows  a face  and  figure  still  in  the  full  vigor  of  unimpaired  manhood,  with  great, 
dark,  lustrous  eyes,  masterful  expression,  and  impressive  presence.  It  is  one  of 
Raeburn’s  finest  portraits. 


[442] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


£tr  li.nttmru 

BORN  1756:  DIED  1823 
ENGLISH  SCHOOL 


SIR  HENRY  RAEBURN  (pronounced  Ray-burn)  was  of  Border  descent, 
his  forefathers  probably  taking  their  name  from  the  hill-farm  of  Raeburn. 
Th  is  led  Sir  Henry  to  call  himself  a “Raeburn  of  that  ilk.”  1 he  property 
ultimately  passed  to  the  Scotts.  It  is  commonly  placed  in  Annandale,  but  it 
appears  to  have  been  farther  east,  in  Tweeddale. 

On  Sir  Henry’s  shield,  his  great-grandson  William  Raeburn  Andrew  says, 
is  a rae  or  roe-deer  drinking  from  a burn  or  rivulet  running  at  its  feet.  The 
crest  is  a roe’s  head,  with  the  motto  Robur  in  Deo.  The  earlier  Raeburns  are 
described  by  their  descendants  as  rieving  pastoral  lairds.  They  probably  did 
as  their  neighbors  did,  and  followed  the  Border  fashion  in  their  methods  of 
supplying  the  larder  and  replenishing  byres  and  herds  when  beeves  went 
scarce,  and  the  customary  pair  of  spurs  was  set  before  the  laird  for  breakfast. 

The  family  was  nearing  the  confines  of  history  when,  early  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  Robert  Raeburn  decided  to  give  up  farming  for  manufacturing,  and 
left  the  undulating  uplands  of  the  Border  for  the  neighborhood  of  the  capital. 
We  find  him  beginning  some  kind  of  milling  or  manufacturing  at  Stockbridge, 
then  an  outlying  suburb,  but  now  incorporated  with  Edinburgh. 

Of  Robert  little  is  known  beyond  Cunningham’s  statement  that  he  was  a 
most  worthy  man;  and  of  the  mother  of  the  painter  the  only  quality  mentioned 
by  the  same  author  is  her  tenderness.  They  had  two  sons — William,  born 
about  1744,  and  Henry,  born  on  March  4,  1756. 

The  morning  of  the  sons’  lives  was  clouded.  About  the  time  when  the  king- 
dom was  entering  upon  the  long  and  fateful  reign  of  George  III.  loss  fell  upon 
the  Raeburn  household;  for,  first,  Robert  died,  and  then  his  widow.  Left 
orphans  at  an  age  when  parental  guidance  is  most  needed,  the  two  boys  were 
called  upon  to  face  the  world  together.  William  had  apparently  been  taught 
something  of  his  father’s  business  and  its  management,  as,  although  only  a 
youth  of  sixteen  or  eighteen,  he  is  said  to  have  continued  it.  Feeling  in  his  in- 
experience the  burden  of  business,  he  could  not  have  had  much  spare  energy 
to  bestow  upon  domestic  affairs,  even  upon  Henry.  It  was  accordingly  decided 
to  find  a temporary  home  for  him.  It  was  a red-letter  day  in  the  life  of  Henry 
Raeburn  when  he  was  taken  from  Stockbridge  to  the  south  side  of  Edinburgh, 

[443  ] 


24 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


and  placed  in  the  Hospital  in  Lauriston  which  bears  the  name  of  George 
Ideriot,  Scott’s  “Jingling  Geordie.”  He  was  then  nine  years  of  age. 

Of  his  career  there  only  a broad  and  general  outline  is  given.  He  had  no 
skill  in  the  classics;  perhaps  his  taste  did  not  lie  in  that  direction.  But  he  re- 
ceived an  education  which  enabled  him  afterwards  to  maintain  on  equal 
terms  a lifelong  intercourse  with  men  of  letters,  and  fitted  him  both  for  asso- 
ciation with  sitters  of  learning  and  rank  and  for  the  social  position  which  he 
rose  to  command.  In  doing  the  task-work  of  the  school  he  acquitted  himself 
as  other  boys  did.  He  was  neither  very  dull,  says  Cunningham,  nor  very 
bright.  He  remained  six  or  seven  years  in  Heriot’s. 

Taken  from  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  the  momentous  question  of  a pro- 
fession or  calling  had  first  to  be  settled.  It  is  pointedly  recorded  that  his  genius 
did  not  decide  for  him.  He  had,  in  other  words,  no  clear  preference.  Ulti- 
mately he  fixed  upon  the  industrial  art  of  a goldsmith,  and  was  accordingly 
apprenticed  to  Mr.  Gilliland,  who  had  reached  a certain  eminence  in  the  busi- 
ness. That  Raeburn  acquired  a certain  amount  of  manual  dexterity  and  ac- 
curacy from  his  work  at  the  goldsmith’s  goes  without  saying.  These  qualities 
fitted  him  for  miniature-painting,  to  which  he  appears  to  have  turned  soon 
after  settling  into  harness  at  Gilliland’s.  He  found  sitters  for  practice  among 
his  friends  and  associates.  In  time  his  works  attracted  the  attention  of  his 
master,  whose  treatment  of  his  apprentice  is  the  best  available  evidence  of 
Raeburn’s  growing  skill.  His  miniatures,  nevertheless,  have  been  so  totally 
eclipsed  by  his  oils  that  he  is  almost  unknown  among  miniaturists.  Two,  of 
uncertain  date,  were  included  in  the  exhibition  of  his  portraits  held  at  Edin- 
burgh in  1876.  The  earlier  of  these  is  a likeness  of  David  Deuchar,  engraver 
and  etcher,  and  evidently  belongs  to  the  Gilliland  period.  The  second  min- 
iature is  one  of  Dr.  Andrew  Wood,  and  is  obviously  later  than  the  Deuchar. 

During  the  whole  course  of  his  apprenticeship, Raeburn’s  energy  and  indus- 
try were  most  exemplary.  When  Gilliland  discovered  the  genius  plainly  work- 
ing in  his  apprentice,  he,  with  an  unselfish  generosity,  as  wise  as  it  is  rare,  de- 
cided to  aid  its  development  by  allowing  Raeburn  every  reasonable  oppor- 
tunity for  its  exercise.  That  he  had  an  artist-genius  in  his  workshop  awoke  in 
him  an  active  sympathy.  This  he  began  to  show,  by  praising  his  apprentice 
to  his  customers,  and  subsequently,  as  he  found  that  Raeburn’s  skill  warranted 
his  recommendation,  by  securing  him  commissions. 

When  relieved  from  the  routine  and  drudgery  of  the  workshop,  Raeburn  let 
ambition  loose,  and  began  to  look  beyond  a miniaturist’s  career.  It  was  then 
that  he  formed  a little  gallery  or  studio,  possibly  at  St.  Bernard’s  House,  and 
seriously  took  up  painting  in  oil.  It  is  not  known  that  he  received  any  instruc- 
tion in  the  art  of  painting,  although  his  acquaintance  with  painters  of  the 
period  has  been  traced.  Emboldened  by  the  success  of  his  first  sketches,  he 
tried  life-size  portraiture,  found  it  less  difficult  than  he  had  been  led  to  antici- 
pate, and  devoted  himself  to  it  to  the  end.  His  reputation  soon  spread  through- 
out the  city,  and  while  commissions  for  miniatures  increased  in  number,  his 
life-size  portraits  in  oil  began  to  attract  attention,  and  for  them  also  sitters 
multiplied. 


[444] 


RAEBURN 


25 


The  year  1778  was  the  most  important  of  Raeburn’s  life.  Some  time  in 
the  course  of  it  he  entirely  threw  off  the  light  fetters  of  the  friendly  goldsmith, 
although  only  to  place  himself  in  bonds  of  a tenderer  but  stronger  sort. 

Young,  well-mannered, good-looking,  and  clever,  Raeburn  had  the  world  be- 
fore him;  but  he  had  one  failing  — he  was  poor,  without  ever  feeling  the  pinch 
of  real  poverty.  Fortune,  however,  soon  came  to  his  relief,  for  one  of  his  sitters 
was  the  Countess  Leslie,  whose  estate,  Deanhaugh,  adjoined  that  of  the  Rae- 
burns. After  a brief  courtship  they  were  married  and  Raeburn  found  himself 
in  possession  of  “an  affectionate  wife  and  a handsome  fortune.” 

There  is  no  sketch  of  Raeburn’s  early  life,  either  artistic  or  literary.  That 
he  was  self-reliant,  resourceful,  and  courageous,  a man  to  mold  circumstance, 
is  apparent  from  the  story  of  his  life.  He  was  a Borderer,  and  seems  to  have 
been  cast  in  the  hereditary  Border  mold.  One  biographer  speaks  of  his  tall, 
striking  figure — he  stood  fully  six  feet  two  in  his  boots  — and  fine,  open, 
manly  countenance.  Dr.  John  Brown  sees  him  in  his  portrait,  handsome, 
kindly,  and  full  of  genius.  Stevenson’s  pen-portrait  of  him  is  probably  as  near 
Raeburn  as  we  shall  ever  get:  “A  forehead  broad  and  ample  at  the  brows  and 
neither  too  lofty  nor  too  salient  above,  eyes  wide  open,  wide  apart,  serene  and 
attentive,  a nose  large  rather  than  high,  and  spreading  at  the  nostrils,  a long 
[deep  is  apparently  meant]  upper  lip,  a broad  chin,  and  a mouth  straightly  and 
firmly  slit  across  the  massive  face,  suggest  a man  of  real  emotions  and  practical 
genius  rather  than  one  given  to  fictitious  fancies  and  poetic  reverie.  This  fine 
type  of  face  . . . always  accompanies  sense  and  observation;  but  in  Raeburn  it 
appears  at  its  best,  balanced  by  a due  allowance  of  tolerance, the  contemplative 
faculty,  and  the  instinctive  good  feeling  we  see  in  a dog,  ennobled  by  natural 
"wisdom,  fired  by  sympathy  and  humor,  refined  by  intellect,  sentiment,  and 
the  habitual  practice  of  an  absorbing  and  intellectual  art.  He  looks  wise,  fear- 
less, independent;  a friend,  not  a flatterer;  a man  of  counsel,  who  would  not 
forget  the  means  to  an  end  if  one  should  ask  his  advice  upon  a project.  In  the 
case  of  his  own  art  he  took  wise  counsel  with  himself,  and,  though  rich,  am- 
bitious, and  in  his  youth  untrained,  he  made  himself  2 sound  craftsman  and 
an  interpreter  of  nature,  rather  than  a skilled  adapter  of  styles  and  a clever 
student  of  decorative  venerated  mannerisms.” 

He  painted,  is  said  to  have  modeled,  and  sketched.  Healthy  and  high- 
spirited,  we  can  see  him  in  his  wanderings  over  Scotland,  armed  with  sketch- 
book and  rod,  for  he  was  an  enthusiastic  angler,  a golfer,  and  a practised 
archer.  His  splendid  physique  needed  the  oiling  of  exercise,  and  his  tempera- 
ment compelled  some  kind  of  action.  The  counterpart  of  this  was  mental 
restlessness.  His  busy  brain  would  tolerate  neither  loitering  nor  idleness.  So 
he  came  to  look  into  mechanics,  practical  ship-building,  and  the  principles  of 
naval  architecture,  which  led  him  to  make  and  test  three-foot  models  finished 
in  a style  worthy  of  an  ex-goldsmith.  He  also  studied  architecture,  planned 
and  built  his  own  studio,  and  laid  out  and  built  all  the  better  part  of  Stock- 
bridge.  In  connection  with  that  he  developed  what  Cunningham  quaintly 
calls  “ a sort  of  abstract  love  for  the  subtle  science  of  the  law.”  He  paid  strict 
attention  to  the  formal  observances  of  religion.  Courted  in  society,  he  was 

[445] 


26 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


seen  at  his  best  at  home.  He  was  a skilful  gardener  and  a learned  florist.  One 
accordingly  reads  with  a sympathetic  sense  of  the  fitness  of  the  climax  that  he 
devoted  many  an  evening  hour  to  searching  out  the  secret  of  Perpetual  Motion! 

In  1785,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Raeburn  set  out  towards  the  South. 
They  first  stopped  in  London,  that  Raeburn  might  pay  his  respects  to  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  and  here  uncertainty  at  once  begins.  Very  little  is  really 
known  of  either  the  practical  objects  or  the  facts  of  Raeburn’s  Continental 
excursion.  A good  deal  may  perchance  be  compressed  into  the  phrase,  “It 
was  the  custom  for  painters  to  go  to  Rome,  and  he  went.” 

Of  his  doings  in  London,  of  the  length  of  his  stay  there,  and  of  what  he  saw, 
did,  and  studied  in  Rome,  there  is  almost  no  certainty.  He  kept  no  diary, 
wrote  no  letters  home;  and  if  on  his  return  he  said  anything  of  his  sojourn  in 
the  Italian  capital,  stated  any  of  his  impressions,  related  anything  concerning 
either  his  own  occupations  or  the  mute  instruction  he  got  from  the  old  masters, 
it  has  nearly  all  passed  into  oblivion. 

After  two  years  of  Rome  Raeburn  made  directly  for  Edinburgh,  halting  at 
neither  Paris  nor  London.  His  first  step  was  to  take  a studio  more  central  and 
more  convenient  for  sitters  than  Deanhaugh.  He  found  a suitable  place  in 
George  Street. 

The  material  facts  of  Raeburn’s  subsequent  life  are  so  few  that  it  may  be 
better  to  group  them  than  to  observe  a strictly  chronological  sequence.  In 
about  a year,  on  the  death  of  his  elder  brother  William,  he  succeeded  to  the 
house  and  lands  of  St.  Bernard’s.  This  led  him  to  give  up  Deanhaugh,  and  to 
move  into  St.  Bernard’s  House,  which  had  been  his  father’s  home,  and  was 
the  place  of  his  own  birth.  He  never  afterwards  left  it.  To  the  mansion  a good 
deal  of  land  was  attached.  As  the  ground  was  adjacent  to  his  wife’s  property, 
he  was  enabled  to  lay  it  all  out  upon  one  comprehensive  plan.  By  doing  so  he 
became  the  real  founder  of  Stockbridge.  Lie  appears  both  to  have  let  on  per- 
petual lease  or  feud  and  built,  and  it  was  in  connection  with  these  matters  that 
he  developed  that  “abstract  love”  of  law  to  which  reference  has  been  made. 

Between  painting,  building,  gardening,  angling,  and  golf  Raeburn  may  be 
assumed  to  have  spent  the  years  immediately  following  his  return  from  Rome. 
There  is  only  one  further  change  to  record.  At  his  studio  in  George  Street  he 
had  a gallery  well  worth  visiting,  but,  as  his  practice  increased,  he  found  him- 
self cramped  for  space,  and  as  Edinburgh  had  nothing  suitable  to  offer,  he 
decided  to  build  for  himself.  The  site  he  chose  was  in  York  Place.  With  the 
removal  of  his  studio  to  York  Place,  in  1795,  Raeburn  settled  himseif  for  life. 

Of  his  working  habits  here  is  Cunningham’s  sketch:  “The  motions  of  the 
artist  were  as  regular  as  those  of  a clock.  He  rose  at  seven  during  summer, 
took  breakfast  about  eight  with  his  wife  and  children,  walked  up  to  his  great 
room  in  32  York  Place,  now  [1829-33]  occupied  by  Colvin  Smith,  R.  S.  A., 
and  was  ready  for  a sitter  by  nine;  and  of  sitters  he  generally  had,  for  many 
years,  not  fewer  than  three  or  four  a day.  To  these  he  gave  an  hour  and  a half 
each.  He  seldom  kept  a sitter  more  than  two  hours,  unless  the  person  hap- 
pened— and  that  was  often  the  case — to  be  gifted  with  more  than  common 
talents.  He  never  drew  in  his  heads,  or  indeed  any  part  of  the  body,  with 

[446] 


RAEBURN 


27 


chalk,  but  began  with  the  brush  at  once.  The  forehead,  chin,  nose,  and  mouth 
were  his  first  touches.  He  always  painted  standing,  and  never  used  a stick  for 
resting  his  hand  on;  for  such  was  his  accuracy  of  eye  and  steadiness  of  nerve 
that  he  could  introduce  the  most  delicate  touches,  or  the  utmost  mechanical 
regularity  of  line,  without  aid,  or  other  contrivance  than  fair  off-hand  dex- 
terity. He  remained  in  his  painting-room  till  a little  after  five  o’clock,  when 
he  walked  home  and  dined  at  six.” 

Upon  the  death  of  Raeburn  Sir  Walter  Scott  said  of  him:  “I  never  knew 
Raeburn,  I may  say,  till  the  painting  of  my  last  portrait.  His  conversation 
was  rich,  and  he  told  his  story  well.  His  manly  stride  backwards,  as  he  went 
to  contemplate  his  work  at  a proper  distance,  and,  when  resolved  on  the  neces- 
sary point  to  be  touched,  his  step  forward,  were  magnificent.  I see  him,  in 
my  mind’s  eye,  with  his  hand  under  his  chin, contemplating  his  picture,  which 
position  always  brought  me  in  mind  of  a figure  of  Jupiter  which  I have  some- 
where seen.” 

After  his  return  from  Rome  to  Edinburgh,  till  his  death,  his  life  is  described 
as  busy,  happy,  and  victorious.  Full  of  work,  eager,  hospitable,  faithful  in  his 
friendships,  homely  in  his  habits,  he  was  one  of  the  best-liked  men  of  his  time. 
Almost  at  a step  he  rose  to  the  summit  of  his  profession  in  Scotland. 

His  portraits  of  ‘ Professor  Andrew  Duncan,’  ‘ President  Alexander  Wood,’ 
and  ‘William  Inglis,’  along  with  those  of ‘Lord  President  Dundas’  and  ‘Lord 
Eldin,’  and  others  unknown,  caught  the  eye  of  Edinburgh.  ‘Principal  Hill  of 
St.  Andrew’s’  is  also  grouped  with  early  works,  and  as  the  ‘Eldin’  is  one  of 
Raeburn’s  most  penetrating  interpretations  of  character,  so  the  ‘Hill’  is  one 
of  those  richest  in  the  promise  of  coming  power. 

Unfortunately,  Raeburn  did  not  date  his  pictures,  and  there  is  no  way  of 
determining  the  chronological  sequence  of  the  many  portraits  which  followed. 
A few  of  his  most  remarkable  and  suggestive  portraits  belong  to  the  closing 
years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  although,  taking  them  in  the  mass,  his  latest 
works  are  his  best.  The  number  ot  his  pictures  is  also  so  great  — more  than 
seven  hundred  are  catalogued  by  J.  L.  Caw — that  it  is  impossible  to  even 
enumerate  those  of  notable  excellence.  He  did  not  paint  pictures  of  or  for  the 
bourgeoisie.  Edinburgh  was  aristocratic,  and  he  painted  chiefly  the  aristoc- 
racy of  either  title  or  intellect.  1 his  accounts  for  much  of  his  good  fortune  in 
having  so  many  sitters  representative  of  Scotland.  He  not  only  painted  the 
genius  of  Edinburgh  — he  perpetuated  the  Scottish  type. 

Some  of  Raeburn’s  portraits  are  notable  by  reason  of  their  subjects;  others, 
as  works  of  art  apart  from  their  subjects.  Of  the  former,  Scott  and  Burns 
furnish  the  most  notable  examples.  There  are  six  portraits  of  Scott  enumer- 
ated as  the  work  of  Raeburn.  Frequently  has  the  question  been  raised,  and 
lightly  dismissed  unanswered,  as  to  whether  Raeburn  painted  an  original 
portrait  of  Robert  Burns.  Both  circumstantial  and  written  evidence  favor  a 
negative  answer.  He  did,  however,  in  1803,  make  a copy  of  Nasmyth’s  por- 
trait of  Burns. 

‘Dr.  Alexander  Adam,’  Rector  of  the  Royal  High  School  of  Edinburgh, 
painted  about  1808,  is  one  of  Raeburn’s  most  successful  readings  of  character. 

[44  7 ] 


28 


M A STERS  IN  ART 


‘Francis  Horner’  furnishes  a revelation  of  a singularly  attractive  personality. 

‘ Lord  Jeffrey,’  ‘Lord  Cockburn,’  and  ‘Henry  Mackenzie’  belong  to  the  same 
group  as  examples  of  the  painter’s  power  to  seize  and  portray  personal  and 
intellectual  idiosyncrasies.  ‘The  Macnab,’  which  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  is 
reported  to  have  pronounced  the  best  representation  of  a human  being  he  had 
ever  seen,  and  the  ‘Sir  John  Sinclair,’  both  in  Highland  costume,  are  wonder- 
ful examples  of  Raeburn’s  masterly  ease  of  realistic  representation  and  tech- 
nical skill.  ‘James  Wardrop  of  Torbanehill  ’ and  ‘John  Wauchope’  stand  at 
or  near  the  summit  of  the  painter’s  work. 

Although  the  opinion  has  been  widely  held  that  Raeburn  was  essentially  a 
painter  of  men  and  that  his  portraits  of  women  were  inferior,  his  portraits  of 
‘Lady  Raeburn,’  ‘Mrs.  James  Campbell,’  ‘Mrs.  Campbell  of  Balliemore,’ 
‘Mrs.  Scott-Moncrieff,’  and  others  are  among  his  best.  The  man  Raeburn 
makes  himself  felt  within  the  painter.  His  bearing  partakes  of  the  chivalrous 
deference  of  an  old-school  gentleman.  The  difference  is  felt  between  the  char- 
acter of  his  men  and  the  emotional  individuality  of  his  women. 

In  the  year  1810,  when  doing  the  best  work  of  his  artistic  prime,  Raeburn 
contemplated  either  settling  in  London  or  having  an  alternative  residence 
there.  He  could  hardly  have  been  seriously  dissatisfied  with  his  position  and 
practice  in  Edinburgh.  The  immediate  cause  of  his  entertaining  a wish  to 
leave  it  for  London  can  only  be  surmised.  Whatever  may  have  impelled  this 
course  he  went  to  London  and  was  introduced  by  Sir  David  Wilkie  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Royal  Academy, of  which  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  was  then  president. 
The  Academy  at  that  time  was  corrupted  by  jealousy,  honeycombed  with  in- 
trigue, and  habitually  guilty  of  selfish  favoritism.  It  is  probable  that  the  recep- 
tion accorded  Raeburn  and  his  observation  of  the  bitter  rivalry  among  the 
painters  of  the  capital  decided  him  to  return  at  once  to  Edinburgh,  thus  fixing 
both  his  whole  future  life  and  the  measure  of  his  fame. 

In  London,  Raeburn  would  have  risen  to  higher  fame,  perhaps  have 
achieved  a fuller  artistic  power,  and  certainly,  as  Henley  suggests,  have  exer- 
cised a wider  authority;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  might  have  suffered  from 
Academic  infection. 

Had  th  e issue  of  Raeburn’s  London  excursion  been  different,  his  gallery  of 
Scots  notables  had  lacked  many  of  its  prominent  figures,  and  some  of  those  the 
finest  in  art-quality.  He  painted  without  intermission  to  the  end,  almost,  like 
Sir  William  Allan,  dying  with  a brush  in  his  hand.  ‘Lord  Newton’  belongs  to 
about  this  period  (1810-15),  as  also  does  the  ‘Lord  Craig’  in  Parliament 
House,  Edinburgh.  After  them  — about  1818  — came  ‘Sir  William  Gibson- 
Craig,  Bart.;’  ‘ john  Hay,’  Master  of  Trinity  House,  Leith;  the  fine  and  warm- 
toned  ‘Professor  David  Hume,’  also  in  the  Parliament  House;  the  ‘Kennedys 
of  Dunure,’  one  or  two  of  the  ‘Mackenzies  of  Portmore;’  ‘Lord  Meadow- 
bank;’*  Admiral  Milne;’* Thomas  Telford, ’the  great  engineer;  his  best  ‘Scott;’ 
his  own  portrait;  and,  amongst  ladies,  the  never-to-be-forgotten  Misses  Suttie. 
The  ‘ Miss  Janet  Suttie’  was  done  in  1820,  and  as  the  tale  of  the  years  allowed 
to  Raeburn  was  nearing  completion,  the  temptation  comes  to  quote  what  Sir 
Walter  Armstrong  says  of  it,  as  showing  that  Raeburn  suffered  none  of  the 

[448] 


RAEBURN 


29 


death-in-life  of  slow  decay,  but  died  while  his  genius  was  at  its  brightest:  “The 
way  in  which  he  has  done  justice  to  the  opulent  charms  of  the  young  lady  is  an 
answer  to  those  who  say  he  could  not  paint  a pretty  woman.  He  has  not  only 
reproduced  her  beauty;  he  has  kept  the  fire  in  her  eye,  the  dew  on  her  lip,  the 
glow  in  her  blood,  and  the  kind  thought  for  himself  which  moved  her  as  she 
sat.  There  is  more  life  and  human  feeling  in  this  head  than  in  any  Lawrence 
I ever  saw.” 

Within  the  opinion  is  a fact,  and  it  is  upon  the  latter  that  emphasis  is  here 
laid  — namely,  that  there  is  no  “fag-end”  to  the  productions  of  Raeburn’s 
brush,  and  that  his  latest  portraits  include  some  of  his  subtlest  and  most  power- 
ful. Taken  along  with  his  originality,  his  independence  of  convention,  and 
the  circumstance  that  not  one  of  his  foremost  works  was  sent  for  exhibition 
out  of  Scotland,  the  matters  noted  may  explain  the  late  arrival  of  the  honors  of 
his  life.  At  the  last  they  sought  him;  he  did  not  seek  them.  Cunningham  hints 
at  his  feeling  uneasy  by  reason  of  the  seeming  neglect  of  the  Academies,  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  but  Raeburn  himself  makes  no  sign  of  eagerly  desiring 
their  recognition. 

Raeburn  was,  in  any  event,  elected  an  Associate  of  the  Royal  Academy  in 
1814,  and  an  Academician  in  1815.  He  waited  until  1821  before  sending  ‘A 
Boy  and  Rabbit’  as  his  diploma  work.  Thereafter,  he  was  admitted  member 
of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Florence;  in  1817,  an  honorary  member  of  the 
New  York  Academy  of  the  Fine  Arts;  and  in  1821,  a similar  honor  was  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  the  Academy  of  Arts  of  South  Carolina.  He  was  also  ad- 
mitted a Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh. 

The  next  year  is  marked  with  a red  letter  in  the  annals  of  Edinburgh.  In 
the  autumn  of  1822  George  iv.  paid  his  long-remembered  visit  to  Scotland. 
Raeburn  was  rather  surprised  to  receive  intimation  that  the  king  intended  to 
knight  him,  “as  a mark  of  his  approbation  of  your  distinguished  merit  as  a 
painter.”  On  the  following  day  he  went  to  Hopetoun  House,  and  had  there 
conferred  upon  him  the  rank  of  knighthood.  The  handsome  and  courtier-like 
Raeburn  made  such  an  impression  upon  His  Majesty  that  he  is  said  to  have 
wished  to  make  the  knighthood  a baronetcy,  and  to  have  been  deterred  solely 
by  consideration  for  the  memory  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  who  only  secured 
the  lesser  honor. 

The  king  had  expressed  a wish  that  Sir  Henry  should  paint  a portrait  of 
him,  and  invited  him  to  London  for  that  purpose,  but  Raeburn  was  never  able 
to  comply.  In  May,  1823,  the  king  appointed  Raeburn  his  “ limner  and  painter 
in  Scotland,  with  all  fees,  profits,  salaries,  rights,  privileges,  and  advantages 
thereto  belonging.” 

Raeburn  was  then  in  his  sixty-eighth  year,  but  he  had  lived  carefully  and 
temperately,  and  was  a young  man  for  his  years,  to  all  appearance  blessed  with 
a good  constitution,  and  possessing  abounding  health  and  vigor. 

Sir  Henry  died  on  July  8,  1823,  and  conventional  expressions  of  regret  were 
made  by  Lawrence  and  Wilkie  for  the  Royal  Academy,  and  at  a meeting  of 
the  Edinburgh  Institution  for  the  Encouragement  of  the  Fine  Arts  in  Scotland. 
He  was  buried  in  the  enclosure  at  the  east  end  of  St.  John’s  Church  (Scottist 

144!)] 


30 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


Episcopal)  at  the  west  end  of  Princes  Street,  Edinburgh.  His  grave  remained 
unmarked  until  a few  years  ago,  when  an  anonymous  admirer  had  a tablet 
let  into  the  wall  to  indicate  the  spot  where  the  painter  was  laid.  Another 
anonymous  connoisseur  had  a life-size  statue  of  him  by  Pittendrigh  Macgil- 
livray,  R.  S.  A.,  placed  in  one  of  the  niches  in  the  Scottish  Portrait  Gallery  in 
Queen  Street.  Standing  in  the  northeast  corner  turret  of  the  building,  Rae- 
burn, by  a happy  thought  of  the  sculptor,  appears  to  be  looking  down  York 
Place  towards  his  old  studio.  — abridged  from  edward  pinnington’s  ‘sir 

HENRY  RAEBURN’ 


Cl)f  Srt  of  Ivuburn 

SIR  WALTER  ARMSTRONG  ‘SCOTTISH  PAINTERS’ 

IT  is  not  unlikely  that  Raeburn  would  have  risen  into  the  first  rank  of  artists 
had  the  conditions  been  more  favorable.  His  portraits  show  a unity  and 
coherence  of  conception,  combined  with  a free  certainty  of  handling,  that  is 
only  to  be  excelled  in  the  work  of  two  or  three  very  famous  men.  His  color  is 
of  the  negative  kind.  It  gives  neither  pain  nor  much  active  pleasure.  Now 
and  then  it  shows  a tendency  to  heat,  but  as  a rule  it  is  simply  quiescent.  His 
skill  as  a harmonist  is  shown,  however,  when  he  had  something  trying  to  do. 
The  portrait  of  Nathaniel  Spens,  in  the  Archers’  Hall  in  Edinburgh,  is  an  in- 
stance of  this.  To  paint  tartan  at  all  is  difficult;  but  when  the  tartan  is  a criant 
green  and  spread  smoothly  over  the  whole  stature  of  an  athletic  archer  of  six 
feet  or  more  the  task  becomes  stupendous.  And  yet  Raeburn  triumphed.  The 
picture  was  at  Burlington  House  a few  years  ago,  and  excited  enthusiasm 
among  English  painters.  The  secret  of  its  success  lies  in  its  simplicity — a 
simplicity  won  by  careful  thought,  by  freedom  from  discord  in  color,  and  by 
breadth  and  finality  in  execution.  Perhaps  a still  finer  example  of  the  same 
sort  of  skill  is  the  full-length  portrait  of  Colonel  Alastair  Macdonnell  of  Glen- 
garry, which  at  present  hangs,  as  a loan,  in  the  Scottish  National  Gallery. 
Breadth  and  simplicity  of  lighting  and  handling  could  not  easily  be  carried 
farther,  and  the  warm  tints  of  the  tartan  gave  an  opportunity  for  a richer 
scheme  of  color  than  that  in  the  picture  in  Archers’  Hall.  Raeburn’s  notion  of 
color  was  that  of  a modern  Frenchman.  Quality  of  tint  he  did  not  feel  much 
for;  truth  of  value  and  harmony  he  aimed  at.  In  his  letters  from  Madrid, 
Wilkie  continually  mentions  the  handling  of  Velasquez  as  reminding  him  of 
Raeburn;  and  those  who  have  lately  been  admiring  the  Duke  of  Wellington’s 
magnificent  ‘Innocent  x.’  at  the  Old  Masters  will  understand  what  he  meant. 
The  Velasquez  has  a force  and  completeness  far  beyond  that  of  Raeburn’s 
work  at  its  best.  It  was  painted  by  a man  who  had  grown  up  among  the  great 
schools;  who  lived  with  Titians  and  Tintorettos,  and  had  about  him  crowds 
of  painters,  who,  slight  as  their  talents  may  seem  in  comparison  with  his,  suf- 
ficed at  least  to  drive  him  to  perfect  his  powers.  Raeburn,  on  the  other  hand, 

[450] 


RAEBURN 


31 


when  his  short  visit  to  Italy  had  faded  in  his  memory,  had  no  person  or  thing 
to  “make  a pace”  for  him.  His  fine  taste  compelled  him  to  do  work  that  was 
good,  but  its  stimulus  was  not  enough  to  make  a man  without  ambition  de- 
velop his  resources  to  the  full.  His  pictures  seldom  give  an  opening  for  posi- 
tive criticism.  So  far  as  they  go,  they  come  near  perfection.  But  the  range  of 
his  chiaroscuro  is  too  short;  his  shadows  and  his  high  lights  are  too  near  each 
other,  which  leads  to  a want  of  depth  and  roundness  in  his  modeling,  and  gen- 
erally to  a want  of  force.  This  comes  partly,  no  doubt,  from  his  habit  of  paint- 
ing without  a rest  for  his  hand.  That  would  lead  him  to  simplify  handling  as 
far  as  possible  and  to  adopt  that  system  of  large,  square  brush-strokes  which 
is  more  conspicuous  with  him  than  with  any  other  painter.  With  Raeburn 
these  strokes  are  apt  to  be  too  large,  so  that  his  breadth  occasionally  degener- 
ates almost  into  emptiness,  or  at  least  into  what  would  be  emptiness  but  for 
the  consummate  knowledge  shown  in  what  is  given.  An  instance  of  this  is  to 
be  seen  in  the  portrait  of  Francis  Horner,  now  at  Bethnal  Green.  Splendid 
work  up  to  a certain  point,  it  wants  to  be  carried  farther.  I do  not  say  this  be- 
cause I have  any  hankering  after  “finish,”  but  because  I can  see  that  here  the 
painter’s  own  conception  would  profit  by  more  force  and  definition. 

IDWARD  P1NNINGTON  ‘SIR  HENRY  RAEBURN’ 

HE  developed  along  the  line  springing  from  the  early  ‘Chalmers  of  Pitten- 
crieff,’  passing  through  the  ‘Newton,’  ‘Robison,’  and  ‘ Bannatyne,’  and 
reaching  his  polished  maturity  in  the  ‘Wauchope’  and  ‘ Waldrop’  and  female 
portraits.  In  the  middle  period  of  his  evolution  Raeburn  built  his  heads  in 
squares.  There  is  no  Rembrandtesque  subtlety  in  his  brush-work,  almost  no 
mystery  in  his  technique,  as  there  is  in  that  of  Velasquez.  He  did  not  aim  at 
fineness  of  complex  texture.  Every  touch  of  the  brush  leaves  a rectangular 
impress  upon  the  unprepared  canvas,  and,  looked  at  closely,  the  result  is  akin 
to  inlaying  after  the  manner  of  Henri  Deux  ware,  cellular  enamel  (cloisonne), 
or  mosaic.  The  edges  are  almost  as  well  defined  as  those  of  the  cells  of  metal 
ribbon  in  the  enamel.  Distance  was  necessary  to  the  fusion  of  the  brush- 
marks,  and  when  Raeburn  looked  at  his  work  from  the  far  end  of  his  painting- 
room  the  sharpness  of  the  edges  disappeared,  and  the  planes  or  brush-marks 
seemed  to  run  together  into  a vigorously  modeled  face.  The  subsequent 
change  in  his  method  was  towards  a more  evenly  graded  roundness.  The 
square  touch  disappears  in  the  softer  curves  of  reality.  He  may  have  been  led 
to  his  later  manner  by  his  practice  in  the  portraiture  of  women,  whose  finer 
features  and  more  delicate  color  could  not  be  rendered  so  successfully  by 
square-painting  as  those  of  the  more  pronounced  masculine  type.  That,  in 
any  event,  is  the  point  at  which  he  arrived,  and  whether  the  Earl  of  Home’s 
‘Scott’  was  the  last  work  he  touched  or  not,  it  marks  the  outermost  limit  of 
Raeburn’s  evolution  in  respect  of  technique  and  style. 

Raeburn’s  method  stands  in  no  need  of  further  explanation.  His  intention 
was  to  be  absolutely  true  to  nature,  and  to  reach  that  aim  he  was  compelled 
to  treat  details  as  they  actually  came  into  his  vision  relatively  to  his  sitter. 
His  vision,  that  is,  was  concentrated  on  his  model;  of  anything  else  he  had  only 

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32 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


an  indistinct  impression.  He  never,  therefore,  obtruded  accessories  to  the 
division  of  attention  with  his  principal  subject. 

Even  beyond  the  play  of  light  and  its  transformations  of  color  and  surface 
Raeburn  sought  vitality,  the  inner  life  which  includes  character  and  temper- 
ament, or  sentient  individuality.  In  that  also  he  followed  nature,  followed  her 
into  the  inmost  recesses  of  humanity.  Only  by  adhering  to  nature  did  he  se- 
cure variety.  He  did  not  pass  all  his  sitters  through  one  mechanical  process,  or 
turn  them  out  of  a common  mold.  He  differentiated  them  not  less  in  mental 
characteristics  than  in  physical  form. 

In  flesh-painting  his  leaning  is  towards  a grateful  warmth.  His  faces  are 
aglow  with  health,  pulsing  blood,  and  the  vigor  of  life,  and  that  is  undoubtedly 
the  quality  which  seated  him  firmly  in  popular  favor,  and  has  contributed 
greatly  to  his  retention  of  a position  in  the  front  rank  of  portrait-painters.  Liv- 
ing nature  was  his  theme,  and  in  none  of  his  portraits  is  there  seen  a lifeless 
counterfeit  of  humanity.  Raeburn  undoubtedly  possessed  ideality,  but  he  did 
not  idealize  in  the  sense  of  exaltation  to  imagined  perfection.  This  is  exem- 
plified in  the  almost  intangible,  curiously  subtle  blending  in  ‘The  Macnab’  of 
the  “character”  with  the  Chief  of  the  Highland  clan.  The  ‘Lady  Raeburn’ 
is  worth  a volume  upon  the  placid  repose  of  matrimonial  peace  and  confidence. 
There  is  meaning  eloquence  even  in  the  folded  arms.  The  sunshine  of  a life 
is  throbbing  in  the  paint.  In  many  other  portraits — the ‘Admiral  Duncan,’ 

‘ Lord  Eldin,’  ‘ Dr.  Spens  ’ — is  an  idea  subsidiary  to  the  artistic  motif.  Its  ex- 
pression gives  measurable  perfectness  to  the  portrait.  It  enriches  the  color 
with  thought  and  purpose;  impregnates  the  pigments  with  suggestions  of  the 
actual  but  unseen  adjuncts  of  life.  In  its  most  obvious  forms  the  judge  sits  on 
the  judgment-seat,  the  archer  stands  at  the  butts,  the  Highland  chief  is  seen 
amidst  the  mists  and  bens  of  the  North,  the  connoisseur  dilutes  law  with  art, 
the  naval  commander  is  afloat,  the  romancist  sits  brooding  amongst  medieval 
ruins  weaving  the  web  of  story. 

In  these  ways  Raeburn  idealized,  and  it  is  with  a feeling  akin  to  regret  that 
the  distinction  must  be  drawn  between  subject-interest  and  technique.  It  is, 
nevertheless,  true  that  for  supreme  artistic  excellence  it  is  with  his  simplest 
portraits  — ‘Scott,’  ‘Wardrop,’ ‘Wauchope’  — that  the  high-water  mark  of 
his  command  of  his  craft  is  drawn.  The  ‘Sinclair’  is  dexterous,  but  the  ‘War- 
drop’  is  masterly.  In  the  triad  named  there  is  ideality,  but  refined  into  a qual- 
ity to  be  felt  rather  than  analyzed.  In  the  earlier  group  is  seen  the  working  of 
that  form  of  imagination  which  does  not  create  out  of  nothing,  but  vivifies 
the  actual.  In  such  manner  vitality  and  ideality  in  his  art  run  together.  They 
fuse  like  the  colors  in  a face,  and  can  hardly  be  traced  in  separate  operation  in 
a nature  singularly  impressionable  and  fruitful. 

In  speaking  of  Raeburn  as  “The  Scottish  Master,”  it  is  not  intended  to 
identify  him,  as  artist,  with  one  country  more  than  another,  or  to  impute  a 
local  accent  to  his  artistry.  That  his  subjects  are  types  is  due  to  the  decision 
of  the  Scottish  character  which  they  represent,  and  in  nowise  to  his  art.  His 
were  the  penetration,  sharpened  by  sympathy,  to  read  the  character,  and  the 
skill  to  portray  it  in  color. 


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RAEBURN 


33 


Raeburn  made  no  appeal  to  patriotism  by  entering  the  field  of  history;  but 
he  preserved  for  us  the  effigies  of  many  who  made  history,  especially  that  of 
literature.  He  painted  a whole  generation  of  those  amongst  whom  he  lived, 
and  in  them  supplied  a key  to  their  life  and  time.  To  many  of  them  a lasting 
personal  interest  attaches,  but  it  is  less  in  them  than  in  his  art  that  Raeburn 
lives.  He  was  the  technical  forerunner  of  the  later  portrait-painters  of  France, 
who  led  to  Sargent  and  the  dashing  breadth  of  Robert  Brough.  A good  por- 
trait by  him  is  a revelation  of  the  joyousness  of  life.  He  could  not  only  read 
human  nature,  with  all  its  complexities  and  shades  of  distinction,  but  he  had 
the  faculty  of  phrasing  his  perceptions  in  color.  His  sitters  might  be  racial 
types,  but  he  merged  the  typical  aspect  in  the  individual;  and,  in  the  power  of 
individualizing  his  models,  while  never  losing  sight  of  pictorial  effect,  it  is 
doubtful  if,  at  least  among  modern  painters,  he  has  a superior. 

JOHN  BROWN  ‘SPARE  HOURS’ 

SIR  HENRY  RAEBURN  is  the  greatest  of  Scottish  portrait-painters. 

Others  may  have  painted  one  or  more  as  excellent  portraits,  but  none  of 
these  has  given  to  the  world  such  a profusion  of  masterpieces.  Indeed,  Sir 
Henry’s  name  may  stand  with  those  of  the  world’s  greatest  men  in  this  depart- 
ment of  art.  There  is  a breadth  and  manliness,  a strength  and  felicity  of 
likeness  and  of  character,  and  a simplicity  and  honesty  of  treatment  which 
are  found  only  in  men  of  primary  genius. 

Raeburn  stands  nearly  alone  among  the  great  portrait-painters  in  having 
never  painted  anything  else.  This  does  not  prove  that  he  was  without  the  ideal 
faculty.  No  man  can  excel  as  a portrait-painter — no  man  can  make  the  soul 
look  out  from  a face — who  wants  it.  The  best  likeness  of  a man  should  be 
the  ideal  of  him  realized.  As  Coleridge  used  to  say,  “A  great  portrait  should 
be  liker  than  its  original;”  it  should  contain  more  of  the  best,  more  of  the  es- 
sence of  the  man,  than  ever  was  in  any  one  living  look. 

I end  with  the  following  excellent  estimate  of  Raeburn’s  merits  as  an  artist : 
“His  style  was  free  and  bold,  his  coloring  rich,  deep,  and  harmonious.  He 
had  a peculiar  power  of  rendering  the  head  of  his  figure  bold,  prominent,  and 
imposing.  The  strict  fidelity  of  his  representations  may  in  a great  degree  be 
attributed  to  his  invariable  custom  of  painting,  whether  the  principal  figure 
or  the  minutest  accessory,  from  the  person  or  the  thing  itself,  never  giving  a 
single  touch  from  memory  or  conjecture.  It  has  been  judiciously  said  that  all 
who  are  conversant  with  the  practice  of  the  art  must  have  observed  how  often 
the  spirit  which  gave  life  and  vigor  to  a first  sketch  has  gradually  evaporated 
as  the  picture  advanced  to  its  more  finished  state.  To  preserve  the  spirit, 
combined  with  the  evanescent  delicacies  and  blendings  which  nature  on  mi- 
nute inspection  exhibits,  constitutes  a perfection  of  art  to  which  few  have  at- 
tained. If  the  works  of  Sir  Henry  Raeburn  fail  to  exhibit  this  rare  combina- 
tion in  that  degree,  to  this  distinction  they  will  always  have  a just  claim  — 
that  they  possess  a freedom,  a vigor,  and  a spirit  of  effect,  and  carry  an  im- 
pression of  grace,  life,  and  reality,  which  may  be  looked  for  in  vain  amidst 
thousands  of  pictures,  both  ancient  and  modern,  of  more  elaborate  execution 
and  minute  finish.” 


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34 


M ASTERS  IN  ART 


JOHN  C.  VAN  DYKE  ‘OLD  ENGLISH  MASTERS* 

THE  best  painter,  in  a technical  sense,  among  all  our  so-called  English 
masters  was  not  an  Englishman,  but  a Scotchman  — Sir  Henry  Raeburn. 
Handling — the  power  to  use  the  brush  with  certainty  and  ease — was  his  in  a 
large  degree.  He  could  hardly  be  called  an  imaginative  artist,  nor  was  he  a 
draftsman  or  a colorist  beyond  the  ordinary;  but  in  the  Manet  sense  he  was 
quite  a perfect  painter.  There  are  artists  in  history  who  seem  to  have  been 
born  to  the  brush  rather  than  to  the  crayon  — artists  who  take  to  paint  as  in- 
stinctively as  swans  to  water.  The  names  of  Frans  Hals  and  Velasquez  come 
to  mind  at  once  as  the  chiefs  of  the  class;  and  yet,  in  a smaller  way,  Tiepolo, 
Teniers,  Goya,  and  Raeburn  were  just  as  truly  to  the  manner  born.  Wilkie, 
when  studying  Velasquez  in  Spain,  was  continually  reminded  of  the  “square 
touch”  of  Raeburn.  The  resemblance  in  method  — in  a way  of  seeing  and 
doing  things  — could  not  fail  of  notice.  The  men  were  of  the  same  brother- 
hood, if  not  of  the  same  rank,  and  in  eye  and  hand  they  were  both  preemi- 
nently painters. 

There  was  nothing  remarkable  in  Raeburn’s  art,  aside  from  his  simple  point 
of  view,  his  grasp  of  the  portrait  presence,  and  his  mastery  of  the  brush.  He 
had  little  subtlety,  shrewdness,  or  depth;  little  decorative  sense  in  either  line 
or  color.  His  coloring  was  sober,  often  somber;  or  if  brilliant,  it  was  shrill,  or 
perhaps  false  in  its  lighting.  Tone  was  a feature  he  never  quite  mastered,  and 
atmosphere  bothered  him  whenever  he  tried  to  give  a naturalistic  background. 
He  lacked  knowledge  of  the  aerial  envelop,  just  as  he  failed  in  the  perception 
of  the  relation  of  objects  one  to  another.  The  isolated  figure  he  did  very  well, 
but  the  grouped  or  related  figure  baffled  him. 

TIMOTHY  COLE  ‘OLD  ENGLISH  MASTERS’ 

IT  is  to  Edinburgh  one  must  go  to  see  Raeburn,  where,  at  the  National  Gal- 
lery of  Scotland,  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  instantly  impressed  with  his 
force  and  superiority  as  a portrait-painter.  It  is  in  the  vigor  of  his  light  and 
shade,  and  the  noble  conception  and  large  presentment  of  his  subject  — “the 
simple  and  powerful  treatment,”  as  Wilkie  expresses  it  — rather  than  in  any 
minor  resemblance  of  peculiarity  of  touch,  that  Raeburn  may  be  said  to  pos- 
sess something  in  common  with  Velasquez.  Should,  however,  the  experiment 
be  made  of  placing  these  masters  side  by  side,  it  would  be  seen  that  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  Scotchman  lacked  the  subtlety  of  the  Spaniard,  and  that  his 
“powerful  mode  of  treatment”  would  have  much  that  was  coarse  and  bold 
and  harsh  about  it. 

However  this  may  be,  it  in  no  way  disturbs  or  mitigates  our  appreciation 
and  enjoyment  of  such  splendid  work  as  the  portrait  of  Lord  Newton  or  the 
more  charming  and  delectable  ‘Mrs.  Scott-Moncrieff.’  What  a contrast 
these  two  busts  present  to  each  other — the  virile  quality  of  the  man  and  the 
loveliness  of  the  woman!  How  grandly  the  former  fills  the  canvas!  The 
sweeping  line  which  the  shoulders  make  from  one  end  of  the  picture  to  the 
other  is  not  to  be  surpassed  in  its  suggestion  of  dignity  by  anything  in  the 
British  school.  The  portrait  of  Mrs.  Scott-Moncrieff  ranks  among  the  great- 

[4  54  ] 


RAEBURN 


35 


est  examples  of  English  portraiture.  The  supreme  charm  of  the  head,  to  my 
thinking,  is  the  unconscious  grace  of  mind  that  enwraps  it,  the  perfect  ease  and 
unaffected  simplicity  of  good  sense  which  it  embodies.  The  whole  treatment 
of  this  beautiful  canvas  is  different  from  the  majority  of  Raeburn’s  works.  It 
conveys  no  sense  of  direct  handling.  It  is  more  subtle,  flatter,  and  more 
smoothly  painted;  the  evidences  of  its  workmanship  are  not  apparent. 

RICHARD  MUTHER  ‘THE  HISTORY  OF  MODERN  PAINTING’ 

HE  was  a born  painter.  Wilkie  says  in  one  of  his  letters  from  Madrid  that 
the  pictures  of  Velasquez  put  him  in  mind  of  Raeburn;  and  certain 
works  of  the  Scot, such  as  the  portrait  of  Lord  Newton, the  famous  bon  vivant 
and  doughty  drinker,  are  indeed  performances  of  such  powerful  build  that 
comparison  with  this  mighty  name  is  no  profanation  here.  At  a time  when 
there  was  a danger  that  portraiture  would  sink  in  the  handsof  Lawrence  into 
an  insipid  painting  of  prettiness  Raeburn  stood  alone  by  the  simplicity  and 
naturalistic  impressiveness  of  his  likenesses.  The  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  portraits  by  him  which  were  exhibited  in  the  Royal  Scottish  Academy  in 
1876  gave  as  exhaustive  a picture  of  the  life  of  Edinburgh  at  the  close  of  the 
century  as  those  of  Sir  Joshua  gave  of  the  life  of  London.  All  the  celebrated 
Scotchmen  of  his  time  — Robertson,  Hume,  Ferguson,  and  Scott — were 
painted  by  him;  altogether  he  took  over  six  hundred  likenesses,  and  if  this 
number  seems  small  compared  with  the  two  thousand  of  Reynolds,  Raeburn’s 
artistic  qualities  are  almost  the  greater.  The  secret  of  his  success  lies  in  his 
vigorous  healthiness,  in  the  indescribable  furia  of  his  brush,  in  the  harmony 
and  truth  of  his  color-values.  His  figures  are  informed  by  a startling  intensity 
of  life.  His  old  pensioners  and  his  sailors,  in  particular,  have  something 
kingly  in  the  grand  air  of  their  calm  and  noble  countenances.  Armstrong  has 
given  him  a place  between  Frans  Hals  and  Velasquez,  and  occasionally  his 
conception  of  color  even  recalls  the  modern  Frenchmen,  as  it  were  Manet  in 
his  Hals  period.  He  paints  his  models  as  they  come  into  contact  with  him  in 
life,  in  the  frank  light  of  day  and  without  any  attempt  at  the  dusk  of  the  old 
masters;  of  raiment  he  gives  only  as  much  as  the  comprehension  of  the  picture 
demands,  and  depicts  character  with  large  and  simple  traits. 

ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON  ‘ V1RGINIBUS  PUERISQUE’ 

HE  looked  people  shrewdly  between  the  eyes,  surprised  their  manners  in 
their  faces, and  had  possessed  himself  of  whatwas  essential  in  their  char- 
acters before  they  had  been  many  minutes  in  his  studio.  What  he  was  so  swift 
to  perceive  he  conveyed  to  the  canvas  almost  in  the  moment  of  conception.  He 
had  never  any  difficulty,  he  said,  about  either  hands  or  faces.  About  draperies 
or  light  or  composition  he  might  see  room  for  hesitation  or  afterthought;  but  a 
face  or  a hand  was  something  plain  and  legible.  There  were  no  two  ways 
about  it,  any  more  than  about  a person’s  name.  And  so  each  of  his  portraits 
is  not  only  (in  Dr.  Johnson’s  phrase,  aptly  quoted  on  the  catalogue)  “a  piece 
of  history,”  but  a piece  of  biography  into  the  bargain.  It  is  devoutly  to  be 
wished  that  all  biography  were  equally  amusing,  and  carried  its  own  creden- 
tials equally  upon  its  face.  These  portraits  are  racier  than  many  anecdotes, 

[455] 


36 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


and  more  complete  than  many  a volume  of  sententious  memoirs.  You  can  see 
whether  you  get  a stronger  and  clearer  idea  of  Robertson  the  historian  from 
Raeburn’s  palette  or  Dugald  Stewart’s  woolly  and  evasive  periods.  And  then 
the  portraits  are  both  signed  and  countersigned.  For  you  have,  first,  the  au- 
thority of  the  artist,  whom  you  recognize  as  no  mean  critic  of  the  looks  and 
manners  of  men;  the  next  you  have  the  tacit  acquiescence  of  the  subject,  who 
sits  looking  out  upon  you  with  inimitable  innocence,  and  apparently  under  the 
impression  that  he  is  in  a room  by  himself.  For  Raeburn  could  plunge  at  once 
through  all  the  constraint  and  embarrassment  of  the  sitter,  and  present  the 
face  clear,  open,  and  intelligent  as  at  the  most  disengaged  moments. 


€l)f  iPorks  of  Raeburn 

DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  PLATES 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  STRACHAN’  PLATE  i 

ALTHOUGH  this  portrait  is  not  one  of  the  famous  examples  of  the  paint- 
>■  er’s  works,  nor  even  described  by  his  biographers,  it  is  nevertheless 
worthy  of  being  included  in  the  same  class  with  his  other  portraits  of  women. 

The  dress  is  white  and  the  mantle  a rich  reddish  purple.  The  eyes  are  blue 
and  the  hair  light  chestnut  with  gleams  of  bronze  and  gold.  The  background 
is  brown,  very  dark  in  the  shadows  and  lighter  about  the  head.  The  picture, 
now  in  the  Worcester  Art  Museum,  was  exhibited  in  Boston  in  1903  at  the 
Copley  Society’s  exhibition  of  Portraits  of  Fair  Women. 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  LORD  NEWTON’  PLATE  II 

LORD  CHARLES  HAY  of  Newton  was  born  in  1 740  and  died  in  181 1.  He 
awas  called  to  the  bar  in  1768,  and  became  a Lord  of  Sessions  in  1806.  He 
was  a man  of  extraordinary  force,  both  of  body  and  intellect.  Dr.  John 
Brown  fitly  characterizes  him  as  shown  in  Raeburn’s  portrait:  “full-blooded, 
full-brained,  taurine  with  potential  vigor.  His  head  is  painted  with  Rabel- 
aisian richness;  you  cannot  but  believe  when  you  look  at  the  vast  countenance 
the  tales  of  his  feats  in  thinking  and  in  drinking,  and  in  general  capacity  of 
body  and  mind.” 

This  portrait  was  painted  near  the  end  of  Lord  Newton’s  life,  and  very 
deftly  subordinates  the  grossness  of  the  massive  model  while  still  retaining  the 
impression  of  power  which  Dr.  Brown  so  aptly  refers  to  as  “taurine.”  This 
word  is  admirably  descriptive  of  a man  who,  Mr.  Caw  reminds  us,  was  pop- 
ularly known  as  “the  mighty.” 

The  picture  is  now  in  the  National  Gallery  of  Scotland  at  Edinburgh.  It 
shows  the  head  and  bust  of  the  sitter,  with  the  round  and  ruddy  shaven  face 
looking  straight  out,  the  head  covered  with  a powdered  wig,  and  the  shoulders, 
enveloped  in  the  red  of  a judge’s  robe,  turned  slightly  to  the  left.  Light  falls 
from  the  left  front,  and  is  concentrated  upon  the  face  and  upper  part  of  the 
white  bands.  The  background  is  very  dark  brown,  the  lower  part  of  the  figure 

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RAEBURN 


37 


obscured  in  shadow.  The  technique  is  that  of  Raeburn’s  mature  style,  the 
paint  applied  simply  and  boldly  with  square  touches.  The  picture  measures 
two  and  one-half  feet  high  by  a little  over  two  feet  wide. 

‘MRS.  FERGUSON  AND  CHILDREN’  PLATE  III 

THIS  is  one  of  Raeburn’s  earlier  pictures,  ascribed  by  Pinnington  to  the 
year  1781,  while  the  painter  was  still  living  at  Deanhaugh.  Later  he 
painted  several  other  portraits  of  different  members  of  the  family  of  “Fergu- 
sons of  Raith.”  The  scheme  of  color  is  very  simple  and  pleasing— the  lady 
and  girl  in  white,  the  boy  in  brown,  foliage  also  brown,  with  landscape  set- 
ting. The  lighting  is  akin  to  that  in  the  ‘ Chalmers  of  Pittencrieff.’  A side-front 
light  is  thrown  upon  the  figures,  and  a sunlit  sky  illuminates  the  background. 
It  is  a bold  experiment,  but  justified  by  the  artistic  result,  and  was  frequently 
repeated  by  the  artist  in  after  years.  Mrs.  Ferguson  has  a somewhat  conscious 
look,  the  painter  obviously  not  having  reached  his  later  power  of  putting  his 
sitters  at  their  ease.  This,  too,  is  one  of  many  cases  in  which  Raeburn  is  not 
happy  in  his  presentment  of  children,  his  success  with  whom  is  most  brilliantly 
demonstrated  in  ‘The  Binning  Boys.’ 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT’  PLATE  IV 

RAEBURN  painted  six  portraits  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  One  of  these  was 
- done  in  Scott’s  youth,  and  one,  in  the  possession  of  the  Baroness  Burdett- 
Coutts,  is  a replica.  About  the  remaining  four,  which  hold  a place  in  literature 
as  well  as  art,  there  is  a great  diversity  of  opinion,  and  there  are  many  variant 
statements.  The  first  was  painted  for  Constable  in  1808.  On  the  sale  of  his 
effects  it  was  acquired  by  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  and  after  hanging  for  a time 
in  Dalkeith  Palace  was  transferred  to  the  ducal  residence  of  Bowhill.  It  is  a 
full-length.  Scott,  dressed  in  black  and  wearing  Flessian  boots,  sits  upon  a 
ruined  wall  with  “ Camp  ’’  at  his  feet,  and  in  the  distance  are  Hermitage  Castle 
and  the  mountains  of  Liddesdale.  “Camp”  is  the  English  bull-terrier  of 
which  Sir  Walter  wrote  on  the  day  of  its  death,  that  he  could  not  dine  out  be- 
cause “a  very  dear  friend”  had  died. 

In  the  following  year,  1809,  Raeburn  painted  a second  full-length  portrait  of 
Scott,  for  which  he  had  several  additional  sittings.  He  added  to  the  canine 
companions  of  his  sitter,  and  changed  the  background  to  the  valley  of  Yarrow. 

Raeburn  painted  two  half-lengths  of  Scott  in  1822-23,  °f  which  Morrison’s 
account  is  the  most  circumstantial.  Fie  says  that  Raeburn  had  expressed  re- 
gret to  him  that  Sir  Walter  had  declined  again  to  sit  to  him,  and  he  thought 
that  his  previous  portraits  of  Scott  had  a heavy  look.  He  found  the  romancist 
a restless  sitter.  Scott,  on  the  other  hand,  complained,  “Not  only  myself,  but 
my  very  dog  growls  when  he  observes  a painter  preparing  his  palette.”  Morri- 
son, however,  succeeded  in  persuading  Sir  Walter  to  sit,  although  he  did  it 
grudgingly. 

“I  have  been  painted  so  often,”  he  said,  “that  I am  sick  of  the  thing,  es- 
pecially since,  with  the  exception  of  Raeburn’s  old  portrait,  I can  only  see  so 
many  old  shoemakers  or  blue-gown  beggars.” 

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38 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


When  Scott  met  Raeburn  for  the  first  sitting,  he  told  him  he  might  find  a 
customer  for  the  picture. 

“ You  may  for  a copy,  Sir  Walter,”  Raeburn  replied;  “ but  the  portrait  that 
I am  now  painting  is  for  myself,  although  it  may  find  its  way,  in  time,  into 
your  own  family.” 

A copy  of  this  portrait,  Morrison  adds,  was  painted  for  Lord  Montagu; 
“but  the  original  is  in  the  possession  of  the  painter’s  only  son,  Henry  Rae- 
burn, Esq.,  of  St.  Bernard’s.”  According  to  Mr.  Douglas,  Lord  Montagu  got 
his  choice  of  the  two.  The  one  he  took  remained  at  Ditton,  near  Windsor, 
until  1845,  when,  on  Lord  Montagu’s  death,  it  become  the  property  of  his 
son-in-law,  the  Earl  of  Home,  and  was  removed  (1889)  to  The  Hirsel,  Cold- 
stream. This  is  the  picture  reproduced  in  this  issue  of  Masters  in  Art.  Mr. 
Douglas  continues:  “The  replica  remained  in  the  artist’s  possession,  and  the 
engraving  referred  to  [by  Scott]  was  made  from  it  by  Mr.  Walker,  and  pub- 
lished in  1826.  ...  I do  not  know  what  became  of  the  original,  which  may 
be  identified  by  an  official  chain  round  the  neck  not  introduced  in  the  Montagu 
picture.” 

Of  the  two  half-lengths,  which  were  painted  at  the  same  time,  Mr.  Douglas 
has  traced  one  to  The  Hirsel.  He  says  the  other  remained  in  the  artist’s  pos- 
session. That,  however,  is  the  one  with  the  chain  round  the  neck.  On  Rae- 
burn’s death  it  passed  to  his  family,  and,  according  to  the  catalogue,  was  lent 
by  them  to  the  Raeburn  exhibition  of  1876.  It  was  acquired  from  them  by  Mr. 
Arthur  Sanderson.  This,  and  not  the  Montagu  copy,  is  the  picture  that  was 
engraved  in  stipple  by  Walker  in  1826.  The  two  pictures  are  very  much  alike, 
and  Lockhart  describes  the  Montagu  as  “a  massive,  strong  likeness,  heavy  at 
first  sight,  but  which  grows  into  favor  upon  better  acquaintance  — the  eyes 
very  deep  and  fine.” 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  SIR  JOHN  SINCLAIR’  PLATE  V 

THE  portrait  of  Sir  John  Sinclair,  Bart.,  of  Ulbster,  is  assigned  to  the 
period  between  1795  and  1800.  Sir  John  is  described  by  Pinnington  as 
“in  the  uniform  of  a militia  officer,  scarlet  coat,  tartan  trews  and  plaid,  spor- 
ran, holding  his  feather  bonnet  in  his  right  hand  depending  by  his  side,  a red 
and  buff  sash,  and  yellow  lacings  in  the  trews.  The  head,  wreathed  round 
with  its  fleece  of  wavy  locks,  is  one  of  the  finest  Raeburn  ever  had  for  a model. 
The  face  is  aristocratic,  imperious,  but  expressive  of  bravery  and  inborn 
nobility.” 

Pinnington  continues:  “The  painter’s  problem  was  obviously  with  a dress 
which,  although  picturesque  in  fact,  is  difficult  in  art,  and  Raeburn  solved  it 
by  dint  of  consummate  skill,  admirable  technique,  good  taste,  and  sheer 
audacity.  Out  of  the  discords  of  color  and  the  tartan  pattern  he  has  somehow 
contrived  a harmony.  And  yet  no  selection  attracts  attention,  and  no  depart- 
ure from  the  realism  of  details  makes  itself  felt.” 

The  picture  was  at  the  Glasgow  International  Exhibition  in  1901,  and  the 
Exhibition  scarcely  held  an  equal  study,  so  deep  and  so  informing,  of  fearless 
and  clever  brush-work.  Beside  it,  other  portraits,  or  the  majority  of  them. 

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RAEBURN 


39 


were  simplicity  itself.  As  an  executant,  Raeburn  probably  never  rose  above 
the  ‘Sinclair.  How  did  he  do  it?  In  the  first  place,  he  accepted  the  facts. 
They  were  there  before  him,  and  it  was  his  business  to  make  the  most  of  them. 
He  began  by  concentrating  attention  upon  the  head — the  usual  practice.  To 
do  this  he  first  half  concealed  the  hands,  the  right  partly  hidden  by  the  bonnet, 
the  other  doubled  back,  the  knuckles  resting  upon  the  hip,  so  that  little  more 
is  seen  than  the  wrist.  To  emphasize  the  head,  he  set  it  against  the  dark, 
clouded  background  of  the  upper  sky,  and  so  brought  it  into  strong  relief;  the 
costume  he  treated  in  a diametrically  opposite  manner,  softening  the  scarlet 
and  Sinclair  tartan  by  the  cool  gray  of  the  lower  sky,  and  slightly  shadowing 
the  lower  part  of  the  figure.  But  a yet  finer  and  more  subtle  skill  is  found  in 
the  almost  elusive  grading  or  modulation  of  the  brighter  tints.  In  regard  to 
them,  suggestion  almost  insensibly  takes  the  place  of  the  crude  statement  of 
reality,  and  the  device  is  justified  by  ocular  facts.  The  eye,  that  naturally  seeks 
the  noble  head,  takes  but  comparatively  cursory  cognizance  of  the  dress,  for, 
after  duly  meeting  all  the  claims  of  truth  and  fidelity  to  his  model,  Raeburn’s 
object  was  the  portrait  of  a man,  and  not  that  of  a uniform.  The  ‘Sinclair’  is 
probably  unique  in  the  painter’s  practice. 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  CAMPBELL  OF  BALLIEMORE’  PLATE  VI 

MRS.  CAMPBELL  (Christina  Lamond  Drummond)  was  the  wife  of 
Colonel  Dougald  Campbell  of  Balliemore.  This  picture,  painted  about 
1795,  represents  an  elderly  but  fresh-complexioned  lady,  the  type  of  female 
beauty  in  age,  which  Raeburn  never  surpassed.  “The  carnations  are  sin- 
gularly luminous, neither  has  the  rose  faded  from  her  cheek  nor  the  light  from 
her  eye.  In  youth  she  must  have  been  beautiful  and  winsome;  years  have  only 
invested  her  with  a new  fascination.”  She  is  in  three-quarter  length,  seated 
to  the  right  in  a green  garden  seat  beneath  a gray  tree-trunk  and  russet  foliage. 
Her  costume  is  a white  dress  with  an  overgown  of  greenish  gray  and  a black 
shoulder  cape,  the  ends  of  which  fall  in  front,  and  one  hand  is  gloved  in  gray. 
Her  eyes  are  brown,  and  on  her  gray  hair  is  a white  kerchief. 

The  picture  is  now  in  the  National  Gallery  of  Scotland  at  Edinburgh  and 
measures  a little  over  four  feet  high  by  three  feet  four  inches  wide. 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  WAUCHOPE’  PLATE  VII 

JOHN  WAUCHOPE,  Esq.,  W.  S.,  son  of  Andrew  Wauchope  of  Niddrie 
(whose  portrait  Raeburn  also  painted),  was  born  in  1751  and  died  in  1828. 
“What  special  quality  in  his  models  moved  the  painter  cannot  be  told,” 
says  Edward  Pinnington,  “although  it  may  be  guessed  at,  but  both  the  ‘War- 
drop’  and  the  ‘Wauchope’  portraits  bear  evidence  that  his  artistic  conscious- 
ness was  stirred  to  its  depths.  His  brush  seems  to  have  hung  upon  the  features 
with  a lingering  love,  as  if  unwilling  to  lay  the  last  touch  upon  the  canvas,  and 
so,  in  finished  completeness,  to  leave  the  heads  it  had  created  and  vitalized.  In 
the  ‘Wauchope’  the  lighting  is  supremely  well  managed.  The  eyes,  upper  lip, 
and  neck  are  in  shadow  thrown  by  brow,  nose,  and  chin  from  an  almost  di- 
rectly overhead  light,  giving  decided  form  to  the  well-marked  features,  and 

f459] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


40 

softening  the  expression  into  all  that  can  be  imagined  of  gentleness,  mildness, 
and  suave  urbanity.” 

The  figure  is  shown  to  the  waist,  leaning  back  in  a chair,  and  is  turned 
towards  the  left,  while  the  genial  face  is  almost  full  front  and  slightly  inclined 
to  one  side.  The  coat  is  very  dark  blue,  showing  a double-breasted  white  waist- 
coat. The  left  arm,  brought  across  the  lower  edge  of  the  picture,  is  obscured 
by  a cast  shadow  blending  into  the  warm  gray  background. 

The  picture  is  now  in  the  National  Gallery  of  Scotland,  and  measures  two 
and  one-half  feet  high  by  a little  over  two  feet  wide. 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  SCOT  T-MONCR1EFF’  PLATE  VIII 

MRS.  SCOTT-MONCRIEFF  (Margaritta  Macdonald)  was  the  wife  of 
R.  Scott-Moncrieff,  afterwards  Scott-Moncrieff  Welwood.  This  picture, 
now  in  the  National  Gallery  of  Scotland  at  Edinburgh,  shows  the  head  and 
shoulders  of  the  sitter,  with  the  head,  beautifully  poised  on  the  thin  neck, 
turned  to  the  right  and  tilted  backward.  The  hair  clusters  in  a big  wavy  curl 
on  each  brow,  shadowing  the  eyes,  for  the  light  falls  from  the  left  front,  and 
the  farther  cheek  melts  softly  into  the  dark  brown  background.  Over  the  low 
square-cut  gown  of  mellow  white  is  a loose  red  cloak  which  envelops  the  shoul- 
ders, and,  hanging  open  in  front,  is  caught  together  near  the  bottom  of  the 
canvas. 

In  portraying  the  freshness  of  youth,  the  bloom  of  female  loveliness,  Rae- 
burn was  very  successful.  The  ‘Mrs.  Scott-Moncrieff’  is  an  outstanding  illus- 
tration both  of  his  splendid  artistry  and  of  his  appreciation  of  the  points  of  his 
model.  “A  like  perfectness  of  modeling,”  says  Pinnington,  ‘‘can  only  be 
found  in  the  masterpieces  of  art.  The  carnations  are  translucent  and  luscious, 
warm  and  deep.  The  ‘Scott-Moncrieff’  is  lapped  in  a sweet  artistic  perfume, 
rare  and  refreshing.  Sparing  glimpses  of  the  red  robe  go,  with  the  delicious 
flesh-painting,  the  dark-brown  hair  lightly  tossed  above  the  brow,  and  the 
white  dress,  to  make  a color  scheme  most  simple  and  refined.” 

The  picture  is  two  and  one-half  feet  high  by  a little  over  two  feet  wide. 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  JAMES  WARDROP  OF  TORBANEHILL’  PLATE  IX 

“ TF  one  were  asked  to  name  Raeburn’s  two  greatest  portraits,  there  could 
A be  small  risk  of  error  in  bracketing  ‘Mrs.  James  Campbell’  with  ‘James 
Wardrop  of  Torbanehill.’  If  Raeburn  had  no  other  claim  to  the  rank  of  mas- 
ter his  right  might  safely  be  rested  upon  these  two  works.”  This  is  the  judg- 
ment of  Edward  Pinnington.  The  same  writer,  continuing,  says  of  this  pic- 
ture: ‘‘In  respect  of  all  the  finer,  more  evasive  qualities  of  art,  a portrait  which 
made  for  itself  a center,  and  became  a standard  of  comparison  in  the  Edin- 
burgh Loan  Exhibition  of  1901,  is  that  of  ‘ James  Wardrop  of  Torbanehill.’ 
In  masterly  achievement  it  stands  at  or  near  the  summit  of  Raeburn’s  work. 
The  shading  is  a miracle  of  delicacy,  a triumph  shared  by  eye  and  hand,  and 
the  modeling  has  a tenderness  and  reserved  strength  which  the  painter  never 
excelled.  The  aged  face  rises  from  the  dark  background  with  a spirituality 

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RAEBURN 


41 


akin  to  that  of  sculptured  marble,  and  a beauty  that  baffles  description  — a 
beauty  of  its  own  both  human  and  artistic.” 

‘THE  MACNAB’  PLATE  X 

FRANCIS,  twelfth  Laird  of  Macnab,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Bread- 
albane  Fencibles,was  born  in  1734  and  died  in  1816.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  a “character,”  and  the  portrait  shows  more  of  the  “character”  than  of 
the  officer  or  the  Highland  chief.  He  is  not  an  attractive  subject.  Dressed  in 
the  Highland  costume,  the  uniform  of  his  regiment,  he  stands  at  full  length  in 
a Highland  landscape.  The  picture  is  nevertheless  powerfully  conceived  and 
painted,  done  with  the  masterly  ease  of  Raeburn  in  the  plenitude  of  his  power. 
For  literal  truth  of  characterization  and  technical  execution  it  is  indeed  re- 
markable, and  there  is  no  wonder  that  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  should  admire  it 
and  should  speak  of  it  (as  already  quoted)  as  the  best  representation  of  a 
human  being  he  had  ever  seen. 

A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  PAINTINGS  BY  RAEBURN 
IN  PUBLIC  COLLECTIONS 

BELGIUM.  Brussels,  Art  Gallery:  Bust  Portrait  of  a Man  — ENGLAND.  Lon- 
don, National  Gallery:  Portrait  of  a Lady  (a  member  of  the  Dudgeon  family); 
Portrait  of  Lieut. -Col.  Bryce  McMurdo;  Anne  Neale  Lauzun  — London,  National 
Portrait  Gallery:  Rev.  John  Home;  Francis  Horner;  Henry  Mackenzie;  Prof.  John 
Playfair;  Sir  John  Sinclair;  Hugh  William  Williams — London,  Victoria  and  Albert 
Museum  [Dyce  Room]  : Rev.  Alexander  Dyce  — FRANCE.  Paris,  Louvre:  Hannah 
More — -GERMANY.  Dresden,  RoyalGallery:  Lucius  O’ Beirne,  Bishop  of  Meath- — 
IRELAND.  Dublin,  National  Gallery  of  Ireland:  Earl  of  Buchan;  Sir  James 
Steuart — SCOTLAND.  Dundee,  Albert  Institute;  Alexander  Duncan  — Edin- 
burgh, National  Gallery  of  Scotland:  Mrs.  Campbell  of  Balliemore;  Mrs.  Ken- 
nedy of  Dunure;  Mrs.  Scott-Moncrieff;  Lord  Newton;  John  Wauchope;  Mrs.  Hamilton; 
Alexander  Bonar;  Mrs.  Bonar;  Alexander  Adam;  Lady  Hume  Campbell  and  Child;  Col. 
Alastair  Macdonell,  of  Glengarry;  Adam  Rolland,  of  Gask;  Major  Clunes  — Edinburgh, 
Scottish  National  Portrait  Gallery  : Professor  Dalzel;  Neil  Gow;  Francis  Horner; 
Robert  Montgomery;  Prof.  Thomas  Reid;  Prof.  John  Wilson;  Sir  James  Montgomery  — 
Edinburgh,  Royal  Scottish  Academy:  John  Pitcairn;  Mrs.  Pitcairn  — Edinburgh, 
University:  Principal  William  Robertson;  Prof.  John  Robison;  Prof.  John  Playfair;  Prof. 
Adam  Ferguson;  Lord  Provost  Elder  — Edinburgh,  Parliament  House:  Lord  Aber- 
cromby;  Lord  Braxfield;  George  Joseph  Bell;  Baron  Hume;  Lord  Craig;  Lord  Dunsinnan; 
Lord  Eskgrove;  Edward  McCormick — -Edinburgh,  Archers’  Hall:  Dr.  Nathaniel  Spens 
— Edinburgh,  Register  House:  Lord  Frederick  Campbell- — Edinburgh,  Bank  of 
Scotland:  Viscount  Melville  — Edinburgh,  W.  S.  Society:  Lord  President  Blair — 
Edinburgh,  Royal  Society:  John  Robison  — Edinburgh,  Royal  College  of  Physi- 
cians: Andrew  Duncan,  Sr.;  Prof.  James  Gregory —Edinburgh,  Royal  Medical  So- 
ciety: A.  Duncan,  Sr.  — Edinburgh,  Orphan  Hospital:  Robert  Scott-Moncrieff  — 
Edinburgh,  MerchantCompany:  Daniel  Stewart  — Edinburgh,  Highland  and  Agri- 
cultural Society:  William  Macdonald  — Glasgow,  Corporation  Galleries:  Alex- 
ander Campbell  of  Hallyards;  William  Jamieson;  William  Urquhart;  Mrs.  Urquhart  — 
Glasgow,  Art  Gallery  (Kelvingrove):  William  Jamieson,  Jr. ; A Gentleman;  William 
Mills;  William  Urquhart;  Mrs.  William  Urquhart — Glasgow,  Royal  Asylum:  Robert 
Cleghorn — Leith,  Trinity  House:  Admiral  Lord  Duncan;  John  Hay;  George  Smith  — 
Linlithgow,  County  Hall:  John  Hopetoun — UNITED  STATES:  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  Fairmount  Park  Gallery:  Col.  Macdonald  of  St.  Martin’s — Worces- 
ter, Massachusetts,  Worcester  Art  Museum:  Mrs.  Strachan. 

[461] 


42 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


Ixachuni  Jitliltograpljj) 

A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  BOOKS  AND  MAGAZINE  ARTICLES 
DEALING  WITH  RAEBURN 

THE  principal  work,  upon  Raeburn  is  the  handsome  and  finely  illustrated  monograph 
by  Sir  Walter  Armstrong.  Edward  Pinnington’ s volume  upon  Raeburn  in  * The  Ma- 
kers of  British  Art’  and  William  Raeburn  Andrew’s  ‘Life  of  Raeburn’  are  next  in  im- 
portance. 

ANDREW,  W.R.  Life  of  Sir  Henry  Raeburn.  Edinburgh,  1894  — Armstrong,  Sir 
„W.  Scottish  Painters.  London,  1888  — Armstrong,  Sir  W.  Sir  Henry  Raeburn 
(with  introduction  by  R.  A.  M Stevenson,  and  descriptions  of  pictures  by  J.  L.  Caw). 
London,  1901  — -Armstrong,  Sir  W.  Raeburn  (in  Dictionary  of  National  Biography). 
London,  1896 — Brown,  Dr.  J Sir  Henry  Raeburn.  Edinburgh,  1875 — Brown,  Dr.  J. 
Spare  Hours.  Boston,  n.  d — Brydall,  R.  Art  in  Scotland.  Edinburgh,  1889  — Caw, 
J.  L.  Raeburn  (in  Bryan’s  Dictionary  of  Painters  and  Engravers).  London,  1904  — 
Chesneau,  E.  The  English  School  of  Painting.  Trans,  by  L.  N.  Etherington.  London, 
1885 — Cunningham,  A.  Lives  of  the  Most  Eminent  British  Painters  and  Sculptors. 
Edited  by  Heaton.  New  York  [1846]  — Cunningham,  A.  Life  of  Sir  David  Wilkie. 
London,  1843  — Encyclopaedia  Britannica.  Raeburn.  Edinburgh,  1883  — Muther, 
R.  The  History  of  Modern  Painting.  New  York,  1896 — Pinnington,  E.  Sir  Henry 
Raeburn.  London,  1904  — Redgrave,  S.  Dictionary  of  Artists  of  the  English  School. 
London,  1874  — Redgrave,  R.  and  S.  A Century  of  Painters  of  the  English  School. 
London,  1890 — Stevenson,  R.  L.  Virginibus  Puerisque.  NewYork,  1887 — Van  Dyke, 
J.  C.  Old  English  Masters.  With  notes  by  Timothy  Cole.  New  York,  1902. 

MAGAZINE  ARTICLES 

ACADEMY,  1886:  J.  M.  Gray;  Review  of  W.  R.  Andrew’s  Life  of  Sir  Henry  Rae- 
burn  — Art  Journal,  1 899:  G.  D.  Leslie  and  F.  A Eaton;  The  Royal  Academy 
in  the  Present  Century.  1901:  D.  C.  Thomson;  International  Exhibition  at  Glasgow  — 
Athenaeum,  1901:  Deceased  Scottish  Masters  at  the  National  Gallery,  Edinburgh.  1902: 
Review  of  Sir  W.  Armstrong’s  Sir  Henry  Raeburn — Burlington  Magazine,  1903: 
Exhibition  of  English  Portraits  of  the  Eighteenth  Century  in  the  Birmingham  Art  Gallery 
— -Century  Magazine,  1898-99:  J.  C.  Van  Dyke;  Sir  Henry  Raeburn — Portfolio, 
1879:  Alexander  Fraser;  Sir  Henry  Raeburn — Tait’s  Edinburgh  Magazine,  1843—44: 
J.  Morrison;  Reminiscences  of  Sir  Henry  Raeburn. 


[462) 


You  write  a few  letters  in  the  morning  and  late  afternoon  of  life  which  could  be  done  on 
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what  it  was  written  on  would  be  entirely  overlooked.  The  larger  proportion  of  your  corre- 
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important  factor  in  the  impression  it  leaves. 


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occasion,  yet  with  a wide  range  of  choice  in  color,  size  and  surface — brand  your  good  taste  as 
irrevocably  as  your  signature  does  the  opinions  you  have  expressed. 

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“ The  Gentle  Art  of  Letter  'Writing,”  a delightful  desk  book  for  all  who  write  letters,  sent  free 
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phael’s Frescos,  Donatello,  Gerard  Dou,  Carpaccio,  Rosa  Bonheur,  Guido 
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Volume  V (1904)  treats  of  Fra 
Bartolommeo,  Greuze,  Durer’s  En- 
gravings, Lotto,  Landseer,  Vermeer  of 
Delft,  Pintoricchio,  The  Brothers  Van 
Eyck,  Meissonier,  Barye,  Veronese, 
and  Copley. 

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THIS  WORK  MIGHT,  WITH  JUSTICE,  HAVE  BEEN  NAMED 
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